PATIALA:Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal today led a protest against the police failure in recovering the ‘swaroop’ of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji which went missing from Ardaspur Sahib gurdwara by holding a ‘dharna’ in front of the office of the district police chief even as he castigated chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Patiala mp Preneet Kaur for remaining silent on the issue.
Speaking at the ‘dharna’ site after paying obeisance and performing ‘ardas’ at Gurdwara Dukhniwaran Sahib, the SAD President also took on those who played politics on the sacrilege issue by asking why these ‘jathedbandis’ were silent now? He said the same organizations, which had been propped up by the Congress party, had kept away during the lockdown leaving it to the SGPC to help people in distress. “Even now these organizations are silent despite more than fifteen days having passed since the ‘swaroop’ dating back to the World War went missing”.
Clearly stating that the SAD would never play politics on this issue and refusing to speak on any other issue, Mr Sukhbir Badal said “we have come here only because the district police have failed in its duty”. He announced that the party would hold a ‘dharna’ in front of the SSP office till August 18 to demand recovery of the ‘swaroop’ and arrest of the culprits behind this heinous crime. He said if the district police failed to make any headway in the case till August 18, the SAD would announce its next line of action.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Badal said the SAD’s top priority was ‘Sikh panth di sewa’ and ‘Guru Gharan di sewa’. He said the panth also had overwhelming faith in the SAD and the SGPC in this regard and assured that both organizations would continue to uphold panthic principles resolutely. He said the SAD believed in doing ‘sewa’ and had always fulfilled its promises. “We have never taken any false oath like Capt Amarinder Singh who played with the sentiments of the Sikh community by taking a false oath in the name of the Gutka Sahab to deceive the people into voting for the Congress party in the 2017 assembly elections”.
The dharna also witnessed senior leaders including Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Dr Charanjit Singh Atwal, Surjit Singh Rakhra, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, Harinderpal Singh Chandumajra and Harpal Juneja speaking on the occasion. Prof Chandumajra highlighted how the Patiala Police had swung into action and recovered the lost mobile phone of MP Preneet Kaur within twenty four hours but had not made any headway in the case of the missing ‘swaroop’. Mr Maheshinder Grewal said the SAD would continue to agitate for ‘samman’ of Guru Panth and Guru Granth and said it was unfortunate that such an incident had occurred in the chief minister’s hometown and yet there was no action in the matter. An SAD delegation led by Mr Sukhbir Badal also apprised the SSP of the sentiments of the Sikh sangat and asked him to take prompt action to recover the holy 'swaroop' as well as arrest the culprits responsible for this crime against humanity.